WESTWOOD, N.J.—”American Summer,” a film produced by former Westwood resident and current Ho-Ho-Kus resident Michael W. Gray, is set to open nationally Sept. 4. It will premiere at Westwood Cinemas on Sept. 2 and 3, with a limited number of tickets possibly still available.
The film—its tagline says “Some summers last forever”—will play at Westwood Cinemas at varying times from Sept. 2 through 10, Gray told Pascack Press. Tickets are available in advance through Fandango.
The film features several Westwood locations, including a private home and the interior of Five Dimes Brewery, as well as locations in Allendale and Ho-Ho-Kus.
“My film is a slice of life in small-town America that a lot of us have experienced growing up,” Gray told Pascack Press recently. He said Westwood residents should “know that the heart and soul of my childhood in Westwood is included in ‘American Summer.’”
“I’m not trying to teach or preach in this movie. It’s a story that can be enjoyed across generations,” he added.
Gray was raised on Dogwood Court in Westwood with his two sisters, Alyssa and Ann, and their late parents, Bob and Miriam Gray, who bought the family home in 1966.
“American Summer,” a coming-of-age family comedy, features Steve Guttenberg (“Diner,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Cocoon,” the “Police Academy” franchise and “Short Circuit”); Christie Brinkley (“National Lampoon’s Vacation” and the Broadway production of “Chicago”); Logan Gray (“Surfside Girls”); Mia Talerico (“Good Luck Charlie”); and Dan Lauria (“The Wonder Years”). It also includes Major League Baseball stars Lee Mazzilli and Luis Sojo, Gray said.
The film is rated PG for suggestive material, some language and brief smoking.
Gray said he wanted to write a story “that can build interest across the generations. You know, maybe there’s something we can all sit together as a family and watch together.”
He said good things can happen when people unite around a shared purpose in a small town. Examples include residents who volunteer as EMTs, firefighters and sports coaches, as well as those who help with community events such as Westwood’s summer concert series and holiday festivals.
Gray is a television and film producer working through his company, Relentless Filmz. He helped produce the mixed martial arts documentary “Fightville,” which appeared on Showtime, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu and was distributed internationally. He also produced “A Birder’s Guide to Everything,” starring Academy Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley. His films have appeared in the 2015 Slamdance competition and the 2016 and 2017 South by Southwest competitions.
Gray has produced and directed hundreds of hours of branded content through his former New York City production company, Gotham Point Films, and with Evoke Content Group. He also produced the cigarette-pollution public service announcement “We Hope. We Hope,” distributed by the Surfrider Foundation, Alliance for a Living Ocean, Clean Ocean Action and Keep America Beautiful.
Previously:Borough stars with Guttenberg, Brinkley, family in ‘American Summer’